


you're gonna be my wound

by crutchiebytheway



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Anxiety, Bisexual Male Character, Canon Era, First Kiss, Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Use of "Q" slur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 12:39:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3120467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crutchiebytheway/pseuds/crutchiebytheway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"As for Davey gaining any friends, that had yet to happen, too. No big deal. All he had to do was stop his hands from shaking when he made eye contact and remember how to breathe when he talked to people. No big deal. No big deal. No big deal..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	you're gonna be my wound

The baby stirring in front of Davey seemed unbelievably small.

Of course, Davey had still been rather small himself, and yet, somehow his brother had appeared and made him big by comparison.

He hadn't feel any bigger on the inside. Les, Davey decided, needed someone big who could protect him.

Davey couldn't wait until he was the brother Les needed.

***

At eleven years old, Davey developed his first real crush.

Her name was Alice. She had very pretty brown hair, and the best penmanship in the class. As far as Davey was concerned, it was love at first sight.

But he had unfortunately discovered a new obstacle; Davey was not well liked. 

He didn't know what he had done, but whatever it was, it was unforgivable. The other children dared not look at him unless they were pointing, or whispering under their breath, or laughing, and he can't help but think how stupid they must be. They thought they were being sneaky, but Davey could hear every word.

He came to the conclusion that if he was better at his schoolwork, they would admire him more.

And so Davey threw himself into his work.

***

As the years began to tick on, Davey did just that, with only a few minor inconveniences, really.

It wasn't that often that he'd work through the night and collapse the next day, or that Les would try to play with him and David would snap. And when it did happen, he'd apologize right away. Really, it was just one step closer to being the big brother Les needed.

As for Davey gaining any friends, that had yet to happen, too. No big deal. All he had to do was stop his hands from shaking when he made eye contact and remember how to breathe when he talked to people. No big deal. No big deal. No big deal...

***

David was 15 when he had his second crush.

His name was William and he scared the hell out of Davey.

A boy.  Davey had feeling for a boy. But he wasn't queer. 

He couldn't be, he reminded himself as he lay curled up on the floor. There was still Les to think about. What if he turned him queer? 

The very thought triggered something in Davey, and the next thing he knew, he was doubled over, heaving up everything in his stomach.

"Davey?" Les questioned. "Are you sick?"

"Go away! Please! Get out!" Davey had begged his brother.

Les, then with tears of his own, only wrapped his arms around David, who clung to his little brother and wept for everything he was, and what he could never be.

***

David was angry about a lot of things.

He was angry that his dad had lost his job in the first place, angry that even poor Les had to work, angry that he had almost been ripped off buying papes, that everyone seemed to know what they were doing but him, that he swore he could have felt every pair of eyes on him. He was angry that once he realized this, he had to work very hard just to breathe, and that this Jack Kelly seemed to be exactly the type of person Les needed as a brother, and that Les certainly seemed to like him more.

Later, after a strike had taken place and been won, Davey would find something else to be angry about; That Jack's lips were on Katherine's and not his.

***  
Katherine and Jack turned out to be too much like brother and sister to last as a couple, but that didn't stop Katherine from being around. Davey was glad. He liked Katherine, he really did. She was a smart girl with only the best in her future.

And Jack, well, Jack was a natural born leader. It was simply in his blood. The responsibility he felt for his fellow newsies, Davey assumed, rivaled his own for Les. Jack dreamed with all his heart, and cared maybe too deeply for his own good.

He scared the hell out of David.

***

Davey's first kiss was on a rooftop, late at night.

"There's somethin' I want'cha to see, Davey," Jack had told him.

And Davey agreed.

"I usually come up here with Crutchie," Jack said when they had climbed to the top, just before laying himself down, facing the stars. "But I thought you'd want to see it too."

Davey had gazed at the stars for a large chunk of time before replying truthfully. "It's beautiful."

Jack chuckled, low and sweet, and there was nothing mean about it. For once, it seemed, here was someone laughing with him, and not at him.

Suddenly, Jack was right next to him, leaning in, and their lips had met.

Jack was kissing him.

And Davey was kissing him back.

David's heart pounded with none of the worry he had felt for years and years without end, for in that moment, there was only himself, Jack, and the stars.

He remembers bringing his hand to the back of Jack's head, and pulling him in even closer, as he prayed the kiss didn't end, because Davey knew that the moment he did, they would have to face to consequences.

But it did end, with his hand still on Jack's neck and their forehead pressed together.

"No one can know," he whispered to Jack.

"No one will," came his reply, and while the future was uncertain, Davey was glad for the extra security and love he had found.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure his I feel about this.
> 
> I might be doing an expansion on this that's better written. We'll see.


End file.
